BRANDON MOSS

9/16/83; '02 8th (Boston); Loganville (GA) HS
L/R; 6-0, 180

Level	BA	OBP	SA	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	SB	CS
2002 R (Bos)	.204	.295	.292	113	6	2	0	13	40	1	2
2003 A- (Bos)	.237	.290	.430	228	15	4	7	15	53	7	5
2004 A+ (Bos)	.422	.462	.542	83	2	1	2	7	15	2	0
2004 A (Bos)	.339	.402	.515	433	25	6	13	46	75	19	8
2005 AA (Bos)	.268	.337	.441	503	31	4	16	53	129	6	3
2006 AA (Bos)	.285	.357	.439	508	36	3	12	56	108	8	5
2007 AL (Bos)	.280	.379	.440	25	2	1	0	4	6	0	0
2007 AAA (Bos)	.282	.363	.471	493	41	2	16	61	148	3	5
2008 AL (Bos)	.295	.337	.462	78	5	1	2	6	25	1	1
2008 NL	.222	.288	.424	158	10	2	6	15	45	0	1
2008 AAA (Bos)	.284	.346	.528	163	8	4	8	16	47	2	0

Moss has generally been a good but not outstanding hitter in the minors. He's had good walk totals, but strikes out a lot, especially for a guy who's shown gap more than HR power. With the Red Sox, he became mired at AAA due to the presence of Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew. Moss has below average speed but plays well enough in the corners and has a strong arm. The Pirates acquired him in the three-way trade involving Ramirez and Jason Bay. He was expected to take over LF for the Pirates, but he ended up playing mainly in right after Nyjer Morgan took over in left. The spacious LF in PNC is a big concern for the Pirates and they'd prefer having a speedy player there, so Moss could end up in right if either Morgan or Andrew McCutchen wins a starting job in 2009.

Morgan showed some power potential after the trade, but struggled for some extended periods, especially in September. He has good bat speed, but there are some sizeable holes in his swing, such as down and in. His power is mainly straight away, so he's unlikely to benefit from the short RF porch at PNC. He probably profiles best as a complementary player, possibly a platoon player, although he hit LHPs better than RHPs after the trade in a small sample size. It may be some time before the Pirates find out more about him, though. A routine, end-of-season physical revealed a spot in his knee where missing cartilage was creating a divot in the bone. Moss was surprised by the result, as he'd experienced no problems except for mild soreness when he played on the few remaining artificial turf fields in the AL, but the condition could have worsened over time. He missed the season's last few games and underwent surgery. He was originally expected to be out for 4-6 months, but the surgeon ended up being able to use a less intrusive technique. Moss is now expected to be ready for spring training, although these things seldom seem to go as expected.

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